Nine backpackers in Australia were paralyzed and suffered seizures
and hallucinations after the group found a package addressed to someone
else containing a mysterious white powder -- and snorted it.

They reportedly assumed the powder was cocaine but it turned out to
be scopolamine, a drug that criminals use to render people defenseless
and sexually assault or rob them.

Officially the drug is called hyoscine and is a motion sickness
drug, sometimes delivered by a patch on the skin. But it has been used
illegally as a date-rape drug because of
the&nbsp;(https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/scopolamine-transdermal-route/side-effects/drg-20072848) state in which it puts
people &nbsp;who take high doses. They might become unconscious or
unable to resist an attacker, and may have no memory of what occurred.

The&nbsp;(https://www.britannica.com/science/scopolamine) drug
, which has roots in Colombia, is also known as Devil's Breath and
is derived from a family of plants that includes nightshade and
jimsonweed.

The injured backpackers, seven men and two women, were sharing a
home in the Victoria Park neighborhood of
Perth,&nbsp;(https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/victoria-park-overdose-nine-snorted-date-rape-drug-hyoscine-found-in-delivered-parcel-ng-b88704302z) The West Australian &nbsp;reported. The package delivered to
the house containing the hyoscine was addressed to someone who did not
live there and whom the group did not know. Inside was a packet with the
word "scoop" written on it and the powder inside.

The group of backpackers included people from France, Germany,
Italy and Morocco, all of whom were between 21 and 25 years old. After
they snorted the drug and fell ill, a 10th housemate returned home to
find the sickened people and called for help.

"It was carnage," neighbor Mark Evans told the West
Australian about when medical help arrived to the home. "Some of
them were strapped to the stretchers and were totally unconscious. Two
other guys were fitting and flailing around with their arms and legs and
pulling strange faces."

Three of the backpackers were still in critical condition Jan. 4.

"Several of these people would have died I'm pretty sure
without medical intervention," Royal Perth Hospital emergency
doctor David McCutcheon told the West Australian. "They were
hallucinating, their hearts were racing, several of them had to be put
in a medically induced coma for their own protection and I really need
to emphasize how seriously unwell they were."

This article originally appeared in Medical Daily.

COPYRIGHT 2018 IBT Media, formerly dba International Business Times
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.